“Stress….the final frontier?????”

It used to be just down to the “Fight or Flight” response…..a blueprint geared to insuring our survival….but today’s life challenges are far more complex than they used to be, while life itself is altogether a harsher, less natural process than it used to be. We need to find the right balance between too much and too little stress – and for some of us we need to take back ourselves which we have unsuspectingly given away to “The Race”. It’s all part of the Love-Hate relationship we have with our lifestyle……..

Stress doesn’t just affect people whose life is in the fast lane. Excessive monotony, boredom, frustration because of insufficient stimulus or challenge, brings downsides as well.

Most sports performers are familiar with the graph of Optimum Stress Levels: In the middle, at a moderate level of stress, there is a zone of best performance.

In life too this graph Is more than relevant – and for most of us it is difficult to find this balance. Coping is made all the more difficult because we are often not aware of the stress we are suffering. We have become smart at hiding away the effects of stress through motives such as ambition,                                                                                                                perfectionism and dedication to work.

What are the answers?

Look at the people you know who keep a balance in their lives between work, family and leisure, people who respond positively to challenges rather than be overwhelmed. They seem to be able to recognize the action of repetitive over-arousal before it affects their well-being. They also know there is no single solution applicable to all……..but one simple rule DOES apply.

We must be in control of the controllables - and that means ourselves - by developing and maintaining a healthy balanced lifestyle – not just the physical aspects (good, healthy diet – plenty of fresh air and exercise) but also the mental aspects as well:

• Practice abdominal breathing
• Establish anchors to help you break state and relax
• Put aside regular time for calm thought, meditation and just taking stock of your life
• Manage your sleep patterns
• Learn to laugh at situations and yourself by reframing
• Recognize and manage your own flashpoints.
  

Hypnosis, NLP and distraction techniques can help you in all these areas and give you

the means for lasting change to improve your life performance and

give yourself back to the life you were meant to lead.

Go to my Recommended Reading Pages for some great books on Stress and how to manage it and my Recommended Listening Pages contain many ways to help you break state, relax and be inspired, meditate and take stock of the importance of keeping your life in equilibrium

Peter Wright Hypnotherapy

Online and throughout South and West England